A new mandate

Bill Clinton's presidential victory was recognition by a large segment of the United States electorate that "supply-side economics" had not lived up to its promise of raising the income levels of most households. It was time to try something else. In A New Mandate, Louis Ferleger and Jay Mandle put forward a fresh strategy for restoring American competitiveness, arguing that productivity growth and technological change can be reconciled with democratic and egalitarian values.

Because rapid economic growth is the sole means by which living standards can be advanced, according to the authors, a commitment to raising productivity should be an essential component of democratic politics. Ferleger and Mandle believe that enhanced educational opportunities for the American people, particularly minorities, are the best way to accelerate productivity growth.

They contend that this would not only improve the rate of technological advancement, but would also broaden the distribution of benefits derived from the resulting economic growth. As many noneconomic goals are also present in society, the authors insist that markets must be subjected to democratic political control. If we are to achieve the growth necessary to induce innovation, the government must adopt a proactive role, as only it can do.

Provocative essays dealing with the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean, as well as the United States, cover such diverse topics as NAFTA, the stock market crash of 1987, and the role of African Americans in the U.S. economy. This important work will add insight into our current economic situation and will serve as a catalyst for further, and much-needed, debate on today's economy.